Lies
by skittles and win
Summary: Organization XIII members in the Death Note setting. For the most part, very serious and deep. Rated T for language, character death, and 'idealogically sensitive' things like homosexuality. Completely clean Marluxia x Zexion included.
1. The Black King

Myde had always hated seeing people getting hurt, even when they deserved it. He felt that no one deserved to be hurt, no matter what they had done. Pain was never a good punishment. He knew this to be true, yet no one else ever shared his sentiments. Actually, everyone else in the world seemed to be filled to the brim with sadism. It was disgusting. Myde's feelings being as they were, he couldn't help but want to save the young man he saw being attacked so close by.

Myde knew this person. His name was…Zexy or something. The slate blue hair and short stature were impossible to miss. Everyone knew him; he was practically a child prodigy! Myde wasn't even quite sure how young he was, but he was half a head shorter than himself and already in his third year, while Myde was only in his first. He had never spoken to the genius himself—the small male was far too intimidating; as if his brilliance wasn't enough, he was pretty overbearing too—but he had been witness to several encounters others had with him, and he didn't seem all that bad, once you got past the blatant dislike for just about everything and the never-ending sarcasm. So it was even harder for Myde to watch the young male being attacked by that one silver-haired kid, Riku. Myde had no trouble remembering Riku's name; his sister's name had only one letter different, and was pronounced the same. But that was where the resemblance between Riku and Rikku ended.

Riku was a source of great dislike for Myde. He had never found himself actually _hating_ anyone, but his feelings for Riku were about as close as he had ever gotten, and right now he wasn't entirely sure he didn't outright hate the silver-haired bastard. He was the same age as Myde, and taller by, what, half a foot? Poor little Zexy-something was dwarfed by his attacker, and was half Riku's size in width. He didn't stand a chance.

That is, unless Myde did something about it.

He wasn't the biggest in terms of muscles either, and even if it was himself and Zexy-something against Riku, they'd both be pummeled, no doubt. But he had something else he could use. He knew it was stupid, that it obviously wouldn't work—seriously, a notebook that could _kill_ people?—but he still felt even more stupid just sitting there, watching the merciless beating Zexy-something was receiving. Pulling out the notebook he had found the day before and kept on a whim, Myde studied the first few rules written in it for what felt like the millionth time, though it was really only the seventh. All he had to do was write Riku's name in the notebook, and concentrate on his face…and then he'd have a heart attack. Or so the notebook said. It was obviously a joke, or something started by some cult.

When Myde glanced up from the 'Death Note' in his hands and saw a flash of metal in Riku's, he didn't even think about what he was doing. Taking out a pen, he wrote Riku's full name on the first page, in big uneven letters taking up several lines, concentrating on Riku's smug face. When it was done, he looked up to where the attack was still happening. Zexy-something—Myde really should have remembered his name by now, this was ridiculous—was against the wall, pushing himself further against it as Riku advanced, what Myde assumed to be a knife still in hand, and raised threateningly. This had gone too far, Myde decided, and obviously writing down Riku's name wasn't going to do anything. Standing up from his position sitting at the base of a tree nearby the confrontation, he was ready to go interfere, even if it got him hurt as well. He had already watched as Zexy-something was hit and kicked and picked up just to be shoved around some more, and he wasn't about to watch any blood being drawn. Even as this thought passed through his mind, he saw Riku finally get close enough with his knife to bring it to the smaller male's neck, who didn't seem to even react except to wince slightly. Myde began to run towards the pair, but stopped in his tracks as Riku flinched backwards, clutching at his arm and dropping the knife.

A heart attack. Wasn't that what it looked like when someone had a heart attack? Scrambling backwards to where he had originally been, Myde watched in horror as Riku made a strangled noise and fell to the ground, then stopped moving altogether. Oh, no. No way. This could _not_ be happening…Holy _shit_. Riku was actually dead! This was impossible! What was even more impossible was Zexy-something's reaction, or lack thereof. He just stared at the body—Riku really was just a body now, wasn't he? Oh, this was not good, not good at all!—and then straightened his tie and glanced around. Upon laying eyes on the horrified figure that was Myde, he made sure they were the only people in sight, then approached him. Myde didn't move. He _couldn't_ move. He was frozen in place, still trying to figure out if what had just happened had actually happened or not.

"That was a very stupid thing you just did." Zexy-something's voice was as cruel as it always had been, whenever Myde had heard him speak. Quiet, but impossible to not hear. Something about him commanded attention, in spite of his stature, quiet voice, and unimposing air. It took a moment for Myde to register the words that had been spoken, and once he had, he was no less confused. But that wasn't all Zexy-something had to say. "You're lucky. If there had been anyone around besides myself and Riku, or if I had been anyone else, things would be going very differently. But you _were_ lucky, and circumstances were in your favor. Now, if you don't want me to hand you over to the police for murder, I suggest you follow me."

Myde wasn't really sure what to say. What _could_ he say to a monologue like that? So instead of saying anything, he stood on shaky legs, and began to follow Zexy-something as he made his way back to Riku's prone form. The slate-haired male stopped, causing Myde to almost run into him in his daze, and said, "Don't forget your things." He said it in such a nonchalant way, as if nothing was wrong, that Myde immediately did as he was told, not even conscious of moving his limbs. When he had grabbed his bookbag, slipping the Death Note inside without a second thought, he returned to Zexy-something to find him picking up a small briefcase from where it had fallen earlier, just a few feet away from Riku's body. Remaining silent, the smaller male didn't seem perturbed in the slightest by the corpse, even bending to check its pulse momentarily, before continuing on as if nothing had happened.

The walk that followed was a long one, and silent. It was unnerving. Myde had never been one for silences, preferring to fill them with music, or conversation. Zexy-something didn't seem one for conversation, and Myde didn't have his sitar with him, even if he had half a mind to play something. And so, the silence reigned. Myde kept checking his watch, wondering just how long it was going to take to get to wherever they were going. Finally, with his tone betraying his annoyance, Zexy-something said, "We'll be there soon."

Taking advantage of the sudden possibility for conversation, Myde spoke up immediately. "Why don't you drive or take the bus or something?"

As if he hadn't heard a word Myde had said, Zexy-something continued speaking. "I have a roommate. He may be home when we get there. If such is the case, you aren't to speak a word. Understood? If he speaks to you directly, remain silent. I'll answer for you."

Well, that was a bit disconcerting. Searching for something, anything to say that would get an answer from the other male, Myde asked, "So, we're going to your place, Zexy?" He was pretty sure that was at least how his name started…it would make a suitable nickname at least, right?

Apparently, Zexy-something wasn't too pleased with being called Zexy. He spun around immediately and glared threateningly up at Myde. "Only one person is allowed to call me anything other than my name, and you aren't him. You are to address me as Zexion." Oh, yeah, Zexion. _That_ was his name.

"U-um…sorry…Zexion?" Without another word, Zexion spun back around and continued on his way. The rest of the walk—another ten minutes, by Myde's watch—was as silent as the first fifty minutes had been.

Amidst his boredom during this incredibly long walk to Zexion's house, Myde had been careful to completely avoid thinking about the Death Note, and the dead body that had been left behind on the college campus. Instead, he spent all that time examining the back of Zexion's head, and trying to remember everything he had ever heard about the young male. All of it basically amounted to a single fact: Zexion was a genius. He was so engrossed in this task that he didn't even notice that Zexion had stopped until he ran into the back of him.

"Watch it," Zexion spat angrily, causing Myde to flinch back. Wow, that guy could be scary. Had Riku seriously had the nerve to beat him up? It was crazy. "We're here, Myde." Wait, how did Zexion know his name? "Remember what I told you." Without another word, the small male walked up the front steps of a pleasant little house with a plain white paint job and a crazy display of flowers. There were like a million different colors and shapes and kinds of flowers, all very tastefully arranged in the windowsills and all around the front of the house. Myde found himself wondering vaguely if Zexion had planted all these, but couldn't wonder for long before he was forcefully dragged into the house. "Stop gawking."

The inside of the house was equal to the outside in terms of tasteful floral decorations, and was otherwise very simple in design. And it was insanely clean. The flowers, Myde wasn't quite sure about, but the cleanliness had Zexion written all over it. Zexion slipped off his shoes, and Myde followed suit, still unable to really do much at all other than following Zexion and making odd observations. From the other room, an obviously male voice called out, "You're late. You were starting to worry me," and was followed by a not-so-obviously-male person entering the room. His hair was a light shade of pink, his eyes were a brilliant crystalline blue, and if it weren't for that voice, Myde would have been sure he was a very flat-chested she. Upon closer inspection, Myde decided that if it weren't for the odd hair color, the mistake would have been much harder to make. The man wasn't especially _feminine_…but he wasn't especially _masculine_ either. It was kind of really weird, actually. Suddenly, Myde knew that Zexion had absolutely nothing to do with the overabundance of flowers.

"You don't have to worry about me, Marluxia." Okay, Marluxia, he had to file that away for future reference. Marluxia, Marluxia, Marluxia. Wow, that was a really weird name, perfect for such a weird person. But then, Myde wasn't exactly normal either. "I can take care of myself."

"If it was a question of you outsmarting someone, I'd agree completely. But you aren't exactly well-rounded; you've got no brawn to back up your brains. Now, let me see the damage." Immediately Marluxia started examining Zexion, and he seemed to find something as soon as he started. He traced his fingers along Zexion's neck, and assumingly some sort of mark that had been made when Riku held his knife there. Myde hadn't noticed any blood…Had he been _that_ out of it? He couldn't see what Marluxia had found, but his exclamation of, "Ouch! That had to really hurt," made him start worrying. Was Zexion hurt badly? Had he been bleeding all this time, and Myde had never noticed? "Well, obviously you've already taken care of it…So he had a knife this time, huh? Did he get you anywhere else, knife or otherwise?"

"No." Myde balked at that one-word lie, amazed that Zexion could say it so easily. There had been no hesitation, no visible sign of lying that Myde could see…Zexion was an expert liar, apparently. That wasn't good. Myde was horrible at lying, and worse at telling a lie from the truth.

Marluxia must have either seen something Myde hadn't, or been an expert at telling Zexion's lies, because he was just as quick as Zexion's lie to say, "I don't believe you."

"Your point being?"

"…Alright, I'll take care of it later. You've brought home…a friend?"

"No. This is Demyx. He's…an acquaintance. He helped me out of a tight spot, so in order to repay him I've decided to tutor him for a reduced price."

The conversation was dizzying, and the lies Zexion spouted off so easily didn't make any sense. Demyx? Who was that? His name was Myde, not Demyx. Zexion knew that, he had called him by his real name just fifteen minutes earlier! He didn't _seem_ the scatter-brained type…Myde wasn't allowed any more time to ponder before he found himself inadvertently staring into Marluxia's bright blue eyes, being scrutinized.

"How did _he_ help you scare off Riku? He's not much bigger than you!" At this point, Myde received a painful poke in his arm courtesy of the incredibly tall man, who had bent over to look him in the eyes. Without thinking, he opened his mouth to protest, but he realized that he had nothing to say. Marluxia was right. There was no way he would have been able help Zexion with Riku. He couldn't exactly say he had killed Riku with a notebook. It took Marluxia's arched eyebrow for him to realize his mouth was still open, and he closed it with a snap. Zexion had told him not to talk at all, and now he knew why. "You got saved by one weird kid, Zexy." _Oh._ So _Marluxia_ was the one person who could call Zexion 'Zexy.' This was getting harder and harder to understand by the second. The pair had a really strange relationship. It was like they didn't trust each other, but they pretended to, and Zexion seemed to almost despise Marluxia in a way.

Marluxia returned his attention to Zexion, and Myde was glad to be rid of the piercing stare. Marluxia's eyes were such a bright blue, it was like he could see anything. If eyes were the window to the soul, Myde's soul had just been read like an open book. It was scary. But Zexion seemed unfazed by it, just like everything else Marluxia did. His voice was unwavering as he gave an answer that Myde never would have thought of. "I never said he scared off Riku. That's ridiculous. No, nothing so noble as that. Some idiot thought it would be funny to toss my dictionary into a tree. He just happened to be in that tree, and brought it back to me safely. My dictionary is a bit worse for wear, but at least it isn't up a tree." Wow, he was good at lying. Even Myde was starting to believe it, and he had been there!

Marluxia seemed to accept this story, though apparently he saw that something was off, because he asked, "So, how was it you got away from Riku anyways? He obviously didn't get bored of you that quickly, if he'd just pulled a knife…" Wow, this was even more confusing than before. At this point, Myde figured it must have been a regular occurrence for Riku to beat up Zexion, though he still wasn't sure _why_. Sure, Zexion was a bit of an asshole, but there were plenty of assholes around campus, and none of them were attacked like Zexion had been.

Zexion seemed to have an answer for everything, and this was no different. "I'm still slightly more agile than Riku is, and I can fit into small spaces. Apparently that's all I've got going for me anymore." The explanation made it sound so obvious, so matter-of-fact.

"Alright, well, have fun teaching the idiot to read." The tone of Marluxia's voice betrayed nothing as to whether he believed the lie or not. Myde was so concerned about the lie working that it took him a moment to realize that the pink-haired man had insulted him. He opened his mouth to defend himself again—he wasn't about to put up with yet another insult—but was reminded by a sharp glare from Zexion that he wasn't allowed to say a word.

This was crazy. But it just got crazier. As Zexion turned to go upstairs, Marluxia grabbed his arm and spun him back around, successfully planting a kiss on his lips. Myde gaped. He hadn't had much experience with guys, but a few girls had found him dateable, and the relationship they had shared was _nothing_ like how Zexion and Marluxia treated each other. And yet, Zexion suddenly seemed…happier. Or at least, a bit less irritable. And the smirk on his face matched the smirk in his voice as he said, "Honestly, Marluxia, am I that irresistible?" Then, as if nothing had happened, he started up the stairs, pausing only to say over his shoulder, "Hurry up, Demyx. We've got a lot of work to do if you plan on passing any of your classes."

After a moment of blank staring, Myde realized that he was now 'Demyx' and thus he should respond accordingly. "O-oh! Right!" he exclaimed before he could stop himself, and quickly followed Zexion up the stairs. Just as he got to the top of the stairway, Zexion disappeared into a room around the corner, leaving the door open just enough so that Myde got the picture that he was supposed to keep following. Opening the door slowly, tentatively, he was unable to keep himself from gaping for the second time since entering the house. The room he had entered was nothing like the rest of the house. It was a _mess!_ There were books everywhere, on every available surface, including the floor, stacks and stacks of them. It was incredible, and intimidating.

Zexion was nowhere to be seen—probably on the other side of a stack of books or something—so Myde was unsure of what to do with himself. An open book on top of a nearby stack caught his attention, so he moved towards it, and reached out a hand to turn it so he could read what it was about—

"Don't touch anything." The voice was calm, but it came out of nowhere, and surprised Myde to the point where he jumped back, almost knocking over a stack of paperbacks. "You break it, you buy it. Those books are priceless, so I suggest you don't do anything that might ruin them." Zexion emerged from the back of the room, weaving his way through the maze, doing so while his face was half-buried in a book. This book looked incredibly familiar.

"I-is that…?" Myde trailed off, not really wanting to say what he thought it was. He could only see the back cover, which was just black. He didn't have to finish his sentence though, because it was brushed off as it had never been spoken anyways.

"Your name is now Demyx whenever you are speaking to someone who does not know you. If you slip up and call yourself Demyx to someone who knows you are Myde, tell them Myde is just a nickname that you've stopped using. If you tell someone you are Myde when they know you as Demyx, tell them the same thing. Overact. It will make it more believable for you. Understood?" After a few blank seconds of trying to comprehend the slew of words that had been fired at him, Myde—or rather, Demyx—nodded numbly. "Now, give me your Death Note. You can't be trusted with it. You act with your emotions, not your thoughts. Either that, or your thoughts are even less intelligent than I had previously imagined. With a weapon like this, emotions can't get in the way, or things go to Hell before you know it. If you're discovered with the Death Note, it will be immediately clear to anyone with half a brain that Kira also uses a Death Note. _That_, Demyx, would be catastrophic."

Silence reigned. Demyx's mind turned cogs that he didn't know he had before that moment. Zexion was patient for a full two minutes, then snapped. "Give me the Death Note." He didn't shout, or even sound angry. In fact, his voice was completely devoid of emotion. But still, it was icy cold. A shiver ran down Demyx's spine, and that spurred him into motion. He fumbled with the clasp on his bookbag, taking three tries to open it, which earned him an icy glare from Zexion, and finally, after leafing through the mess of papers in his bag, pulled out the Death Note, which was promptly snatched from his hand. "God, you're worse than I had thought. We really do have a lot of work to do." With a roll of his eyes, Zexion returned from whence he came, weaving through the stacks of books until Demyx lost sight of him again.

He shifted his weight nervously, not quite sure what to do with himself, which seemed to be the usual in this place. Finally, he found the courage to speak up, and spouted off the first thing he could think of that wasn't, 'So, you're Kira?' Instead, he said something much less relevant to the situation. "You have a library in your house?"

For a second, he wasn't sure whether Zexion had disappeared down a trap door or something, but then he heard the voice that had dominated most of his hearing for the past ten minutes. And he didn't sound nearly as pissed as he had just moments before. "It used to be my room. But then there got to be so many books in here that we decided to just make it an official library."

"So, um, where do you sleep now?" Oh, wow, _that_ was tactful.

"Marluxia and I share a bed." He was so matter-of-fact about a subject that was usually so touchy, Demyx felt his face heat up considerably. He then jumped back as a head of slate blue hair popped out from behind a nearby stack. "Why? Does that make you…_uncomfortable?_" His mocking tone just made Demyx more embarrassed.

"N-no, not at all! I consider myself one-hundred percent pansexual! It's just…how old are you, anyways?" Oh, wait, no. He had been doing fine until that last part. Why did he have to be so…tactless?

Zexion seemed unfazed by the question. His answer was a simple, "Seventeen."

"Wh-what!? Seventeen? But, but, you're in like your third year! Of _college!_ That's insane! So what about—" He cut himself off, realizing just how stupid he was being by continuing his current train of thought.

"Marluxia? Twenty-three. Which means yes, I'm illegal, and yes, we do share a bed, but I'm still a virgin. Are all your questions answered now?"

Demyx wasn't really sure what to think. Zexion was so…_open_. But he was so _quiet_ too! He was completely weird. There was no way to understand him, and there wouldn't be even if he tried. Zexion was…was…oh, what was that word he had learned in his science class last year? An anomaly! That was it! Zexion was a complete anomaly. Nothing about him made sense. He was so tiny, but he apparently knew what a Death Note was, and how it worked, so he had killed at least one person, and hadn't he already implied that he was… "Wait, _you're_ Kira? Th-that's impossible! You're so…"

"Small? Smart? 'Innocent?'"

"Well…yeah."

"Don't go by what you see. You'll end up dead before the end of the week." With that, Zexion again disappeared for a few seconds, then reappeared with a slim book, which he thrust into Demyx's hands. "You need to study that."

Demyx looked down at the book in his hands, thoroughly confused. "A Beginner's Guide to Chess? Why do I need to read this?"

"By picking up and using the Death Note, you have entered a real-life game of chess. Just remember as you read this…I'm the King."

* * *

The King is the overseer, the quiet influence in the background pulling all the strings.

* * *

**A/N: **Yo, I've finally been able to edit this. My internet hated me so once I had uploaded it, I couldn't fix all the random mistakes. Or rather, the lack of two lines that needed to be there.

I don't own Death Note, nor Kingdom Hearts. Yes, my disclaimer is at the end. Get over it.

This is going to be a confusing fic, filled to the brim with chess references and intelligent thinking that you have to figure out for yourself until I do a chapter from Zexion's PoV. I hate Myde/Demyx's PoV, so that'll probably be chapter 2.

If you ever have any theories / ideas on what might happen, or be happening, feel free to leave a review with your theories. It won't influence my decisions at all, considering I've finished the story already in my mind, but it's fun to see what people are getting out of it~


	2. A Queen

**A/N:** Well, I finally got a second chapter for something up. I'm actually kind of proud of myself~

If you find any spelling/grammar/accidental coding errors (by that I mean, I do my coding in the Word document for dA, and sometimes I don't catch it all during the transfer, so there are little /i's everywhere) please do tell me. I don't have time to do the whole 'beta' thing, but I've never really needed to. I'm usually pretty good about it...

I know it's still going slow, very little action. But the last bit starts to make things interesting~!

* * *

Myde—no, no, it was Demyx, _Demyx_—was losing track of things. He had immediately started in on The Beginner's Guide to Chess, mostly because that's what Zexion had told him to do, and he was still in a state of blindly doing as he was told. He didn't want to think about what he had gotten himself into, what he had done, so he just dove right into all sorts of information about chess. He had never played the game himself, but he knew it looked really complicated. He now knew he couldn't have been more right. Every single piece did something different, could only move a certain way, could only take another person's piece a certain way, and it was all very confusing. But the book did a good job of taking it one step at a time, so he was actually beginning to learn something.

For example, Zexion seemed scarier and scarier by the minute. Everything Demyx read about the King, the piece Zexion had clearly stated was himself, fit in with what Demyx knew of the small male. The overseer, the one pulling all the strings…The big question, though, was what piece did Demyx fit into? Was he a lowly pawn, to be blindly sacrificed, or a more important piece? He wasn't sure which he'd prefer. He didn't much like the idea of being sacrificed, but if he was more important, he would probably be used by Zexion a lot more…

Furrowing his brow, Demyx tried to concentrate more on chess and less on horrible thoughts like that. Zexion really didn't seem that bad…Sure, he was Kira, but wasn't Kira only killing the criminals? So Kira was a good person in a way, right? If Zexion only killed criminals, he couldn't be all that horrible…No, no, chess, he had to concentrate on chess. The Knight was the horse-head one, and it…Was Zexion wrong to kill the bad people?

"Demyx." The blonde jumped and dropped the book he was trying to read to the table.

"Y-yeah?" he managed to get out once his heart stopped beating at a mile a minute.

Zexion stood up and placed the book he had been reading face-down so Demyx couldn't see the cover before continuing with what he had to say. "Do you have any food allergies, or anything you simply won't eat?"

Thoroughly confused—surprise, surprise—Demyx just shook his head. He then thought about the question for a second, and shook his head again, with a bit more conviction. "No, not really. Why?"

The slate-haired male didn't answer. Instead, he stated simply, "Stay here. Continue studying." He then left the room, and closed the door behind him. Demyx stared for a moment, then returned to the task of keeping his mind away from the important things.

- - - - -

"So, Zexion…Tell me the truth. What's the story? Why did you bring home that Demyx kid?" The happy couple was currently in the kitchen, Zexion chopping vegetables and Marluxia keeping him company. Though Marluxia could cook perfectly well on his own, everything Zexion made tasted better, and had less likelihood of being over- or under-cooked. Though at the moment, Marluxia had a nagging urge to take the large knife away from the smaller male.

Zexion had long ago become an expert at wielding knives…for cooking purposes only, of course. He was scary when he really got going, though he maintained his usual calm expression and tone throughout the process. Pushing aside a pile of finely-chopped onions—he had the magical power of not tearing up while he chopped onions, in spite of his overly-sensitive nose, that Marluxia had never quite understood—Zexion tossed a cucumber at Marluxia and said simply, "Peel that."

Marluxia did as he was told, knowing that asking again was a bad idea. Zexion would either answer him when he felt like it, or wouldn't. Even if he did say something, it couldn't be trusted. Zexion had a habit of lying, even when lies were unnecessary. And he was way too good at it. The only way Marluxia could tell that he was lying was that he always lied.

Without further ado, Zexion stated in his matter-of-fact way, "If I wanted you to know the truth, I wouldn't have told you a lie. That is, assuming I was lying. I might have been completely honest with you."

Marluxia chuckled lightly. "You, honest? That'll be the day."

"Well, then, I suppose you'll have to deal with the lie. Can you handle that, Marluxia? Or have you finally grown tired of my lies?"

"Are you kidding? That's what makes you so fun. Every day is another question waiting to be answered."

- - - - -

After an uncomfortably silent dinner that made Demyx wish he was back in the library studying some more, he realized he didn't want to continue studying much at all when he was forced to just that. He could handle studying for a while, but by the time he was finished he had been doing so for several hours on end. As much as he hated it, he didn't dare complain, not to Zexion.

It wasn't until the blue-haired male across from him fell asleep on the desk that Demyx knew he could stop. But even then, he wasn't sure what to do. Should he leave Zexion where he lay and just leave? Should he find Marluxia and tell him what happened? Worst of all, should he actually wake Zexion up? Even though it was the least attractive of the options, Demyx knew it was best if he tried to wake Zexion. Taking a deep breath, he said quietly, "Zexion." Nothing. So he went slightly louder, still barely above a whisper. "Hey, Zexion." Still nothing. Zexion was resting his head on one arm, the other clutching tightly to the book he had been reading. In a way, he almost looked innocent again, even though Demyx now knew he was anything but. He really didn't want to destroy this little bit of peace he doubted he would see very often, if ever again. But still, he knew he needed to wake the other up. Finally, he raised his voice to a normal speaking tone. "Hey, Zexion, wake up."

After all the silence broken by only his own voice, the door opening gave Demyx a start, causing him to knock over a small pile of books on the table. "Ah, um, sorry!" he managed to get out as he picked up the books and put them back where they had been neatly.

A deep chuckle startled him again. In his haste to pick up the books Zexion was so protective over, he hadn't so much as glanced at who had entered. Of course it was Marluxia, why would it be anyone else? "Ah, hey, um…he, he just kind of, fell asleep. I was going to wake him up 'cause I thought it was weird he was sleeping so early, but he didn't even twitch." This explanation of his predicament came pouring out of Demyx's mouth without his consent, and he caught himself wondering how he could fix that. If he made a habit of it—or rather, continued his habit—things could go downhill fast.

Marluxia more or less ignored him, much to his relief, instead leaning over next to the sleeping form and whispering something Demyx couldn't make out. Unlike his own futile attempts, Marluxia's simple whisper received something so momentous as a small wordless noise from Zexion, so quiet it was almost impossible to hear, and a slight shift of weight. Marluxia smiled at Zexion, apparently expecting this. "Don't worry—Demyx, was it?—he's always been like this. You couldn't have woken him up if you dragged him outside by his feet." He somehow managed to completely disregard Demyx's presence even while speaking to him. It was, just like everything else about Marluxia, disconcerting. "Where do you live?" When Demyx gave him his address after a few moments of blank staring, the man sighed slightly, though not in a way that meant anything negative. "He didn't even think about getting you home, did he? Typical. He thinks of everything until it comes to someone else's welfare. I'll give you a ride." With that, Marluxia managed to make it obvious he was done speaking to Demyx and would ignore him from then on, just by simply turning his back and facing Zexion. Demyx didn't mind. Even though Marluxia had been speaking words that seemed fairly kind, and he had been acting so…_soft_, it was obvious even to Demyx that the soft part was only for Zexion, and the words were far from sincerely pleasant.

As he watched Marluxia slowly coax Zexion to move in his sleep and carefully pry the book from his hand, Demyx again marveled at what he saw. How could these two interact so fluidly, so perfectly, as if they were a normal couple? They were so…_different._ Then again, they were also the same, in a way. Zexion seemed like he could be really nice, and maybe even considerate, yet his words were poisonous and cruel. Meanwhile Marluxia was the opposite: While his words weren't entirely unkind, his entire persona screamed of sadism. And yet, Zexion really did seem less irritated when Marluxia was around, if a bit more on edge, and Marluxia was being so incredibly gentle…

Demyx must have been staring, because Marluxia glanced over his shoulder in a way that didn't need words for explanation. Demyx flushed and quickly averted his gaze. When he glanced back up, Marluxia had picked Zexion up bridal-style and was leaving the room. Not really sure if he should stay or follow, his curiosity begged him to follow. So he did, if awkwardly.

When he glanced into the partially open door Marluxia had entered, Demyx saw that Zexion was just as hard a sleeper as Marluxia had said. The small male had been placed on the bed sitting up, and was now leaning against Marluxia while the older man checked his wounds, still completely fast asleep. As tanned fingers traced delicately over bruised skin, Zexion twitched in his sleep, and murmured wordlessly. The concern in Marluxia's voice was apparent as he said in a low voice, "You're too secretive for your own good, Zexion…"

It was at this point Demyx got really uncomfortable. He felt like he was intruding on something that was supposed to be a really private moment, so he quickly grabbed his bag from the library and went down the stairs. After a short wait, Marluxia was coming down the stairs, pulling on a coat. "Are you ready?" Without even waiting for confirmation from Demyx, he was already out the door, and Demyx had no choice but to follow quickly or be left behind.

- - - - -

Riding in Marluxia's rather nice car was, oddly enough, a lot more uncomfortable than walking with Zexion in complete silence. Marluxia was keeping a steady stream of questions that would have made it borderline impossible for anyone to stay silent, and Myde had always been a social being. No, wait, _Demyx_ had always been a social being. Right. As such, he found it increasingly difficult as time wore on to remember Zexion's words of warning to not say a word. Finally, he started answering Marluxia's questions if they seemed harmless enough, like whether or not he went to school with Zexion, how old he was, if he had a job, just regular things regular people asked for regular small talk. Nothing to worry about.

But then, Marluxia started wandering towards the more worrisome subjects, and still Demyx found himself talking on. Like it was impossible to keep a secret from this guy. Not that he had been particularly good at keeping secrets to begin with, but he felt like if he even tried, those piercing blue eyes would give him the most condescending stare imaginable and his own truth would be told to him by the man who had stared into his soul. At this morbidly poetic thought, a shiver ran down Demyx's spine. The questioning look Marluxia gave him unnerved him even more, until he realized there had been a question he had missed. "Er, sorry, I was spacing, what was that?"

"Do you trust Zexion?" Marluxia repeated, his voice and expression no different, no less casual, than when he had been asking Demyx's age and other mundane information. But this was a serious question. One that Demyx not only didn't want to answer, but didn't have an answer to. But Marluxia was definitely expecting _something_.

"Well, I mean, I don't _not_ trust him. He's just a guy who's helping me out, that's all. Wh-why do you ask?" The sprinkles of nervous laughter amongst Demyx's words probably did nothing to help the validity of them.

A glance in his direction caused Demyx to freeze up again, even though it still looked the same as before. "You can stop pretending. He told me it was a lie, and he didn't really need to. What he didn't tell me was the truth. You might as well."

What was he supposed to do now? He was stuck in a car with an incredibly scary pink-haired man who wanted a truth he couldn't have and was probably crazy enough to get it by whatever means necessary. Demyx's lips moved but no sound came out, which was good because if it had, that sound would have been nonsensical gibberish.

Smiling in a way that was anything but pleasant, Marluxia motioned past Demyx and said, "This is your address, right?"

Turning around to look out the window quickly, Demyx realized just then that the car had stopped moving. When he saw his house, he exhaled loudly out of relief, and went to open the door. Before he could, Marluxia's voice stopped him once more.

"The next time I see you, you'll be giving me an answer." There was no question in his voice, no request. It wasn't even an order. It was just…fact. The worst of it was, Demyx knew right then and there that Marluxia was right to be so confident in his words, because if asked again he would spill it all, from the Death Note and Riku to Zexion's secret identity. "Good night, Demyx. I apologize if Zexion came off a bit…harshly. He's never been good with people."

The sudden change of subject snapped Demyx out of his strange trance, and he uttered a simple goodbye before closing the door and watching the expensive car drive out of sight. He found himself wondering vaguely what Marluxia did for a living, then realized that was a really weird thought to have at this time of night on his front lawn. He turned around and walked up his front steps, entering his house seven hours later than usual.

"Oooh, you! Myde, where iwere/i you!? You had me worried sick!" Oh yeah. Rikku. He still had to figure out what to tell Rikku.

"I…" He faltered, then settled on one of the many things Zexion had made him promise to do. "Rikku, call me Demyx from now on."

"What? That's just weird. Why would I do that?"

"Because…I don't think I can explain. Just…I love you, Rikku. I'm sorry if you get dragged into anything."

"You're not making much sense…Maybe you should get to bed. You can explain in the morning!" As she said this, Rikku led him to his room and led him to his bed like a drunkard who couldn't stand on his own two feet. She then patted him on the head and left the room with a simple good night.

His eyes downcast, the young man now known as Demyx said to no one, "No. I can't."

- - - - -

The early-morning sun filtering through the windows brought about just enough light to shine in Zexion's eyes and awake him at a time much earlier than he preferred. Already in a bad mood, he attempted to turn over, only to find himself restrained by a pair of arms wrapped languidly around him. Instead of resisting, he stayed where he was. "You're awake," he said to the rose-scented being behind him. It wasn't a question. Marluxia kept to himself while he slept.

"I never got a chance to tell you last night, with that Demyx kid hanging around…"

"What is it?"

"Larxene pulled some strings."

"You got the position?"

"I am now an official member of the Kira Task Force."

With how the two were lying, Marluxia wasn't afforded a glimpse at the sly smile that now graced Zexion's lips. But he didn't need to see it to know that Zexion had been awaiting this news for some time now.

* * *

The Queen cannot be predicted.

* * *


End file.
